angel

n. among American military medical personnel in Iraq, a soldier killed in combat. Subjects: English, Iraq, United States, Military

Editorial Note: It is probably a coincidence that Jose Angel Garibay was one of the first soldiers, if not the first, killed in Iraq after the American invasion of 2003. Soldiers serving in Iraq reported that this term is not common.

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Citations: 2004 Gidget Fuentes @ Camp Fallujah, Iraq Navy Times (May 10) “Saving lives; Steady hands and body armor help in the field” p. 20: Within an hour, the two Marines, along with an Iraqi Civil Defense Corps soldier who broke his arms and a leg when his truck crashed and rolled over on a local road, were flown by helicopter to the Army’s 31st Combat Surgical Hospital in Baghdad. On that medevac flight also went an “angel,” a Marine who was killed in action that day. 2004 Tony Perry @ Taqaddum, Iraq Los Angeles Times (May 23) “Unit Prepares Fallen Troops for the Journey Home; Marine mortuary unit performs the difficult duty of returning comrades’ remains” p. A12: Nomenclature has changed. In the beginning of the current Marine deployment that began in late March, members of the unit referred to HR (human remains) and KIAs (Killed in Action) as they examined bodies in five work areas and made detailed drawings of the wounds. “Somebody, I don’t know who, said let’s call them “angels,” and it just fit,” Patterson said. “That’s what we’re comfortable with: They’re our angels, going home.” 2004 Jim Krane Honolulu Advertiser (Hawaii) (Nov. 6) “10,000 U.S. troops to retake city”: In hospital parlance, those killed in action are known as angels. In last weekend’s suicide bombing, the dead and wounded came to the hospital. “We took care of angels and wounded on that one,” said Commander Lach Noyes, a Navy surgeon. 2004 Nick Wadhams Kansas City Star (Kan., Mo.) (Dec. 27) “Mortuary Unit in Iraq Trying on Marines”: This is the work of Mortuary Affairs, the Marine unit that catalogues the remains of American servicemen who die in combat, referred to as angels, as well as the Iraqi guerrillas they fight and civilian victims.

Posted 28 Dec 04 | Permalink | Tell a Friend